Straight From the Witch's Eye
by theMuse1
Summary: They say that you can read someone by looking into their eyes. Eyes can captivate you, hold you under their spell, steal your soul...literally. ::IMPORTANT: READ PRELUDE::
1. Prelude

_Straight From the Witch's Eye_

_prelude_

Hello everyone. Wow…where to begin? This may very well be the biggest mistake in my fanfiction.net career, but you know what? I'm going to be blunt and say this: I don't give a fuck. Yes, that's right. I don't. When I originally began this story on July 12, 2002, I had _no clue_ that it would reach where it has reached. 

Some of you may be like, "Well, it's just fanfiction.net," but it's really not. Not to me and not to so many other people. I've been here, maybe, two years now and it has _really helped me grow as a writer. I've learned how to take criticism through reviews and I'm so happy that, thankfully, I have not received very many flames. I truly, truly, _truly_ thank ya'll for that. It's pushed me, it really has._

Which is why I'm writing this letter to all the readers of this story, past, present, and future. I have decided to revise this story for a few reasons:

1. It's been too damn long since I've last written for it! Man, I was in a funk and now with the craze of the Order of the Phoenix, I've got my creative juices going again. The whole funk thing has just been crazy. It hasn't just been with this story. I've virtually just stopped writing all together and when I do, I haven't been able to finish, which is buggin' me to no end.

2. I have bigger, better ideas and I can't flow on the same path that I was on so I'm planning to use my bigger and better ideas. 

3. It was too sloppy before. It wasn't organized at all. I didn't think I was consistent enough with the characters; I didn't really like the way I wrote them and the direction the plot was going.

So again, I really don't know if I will keep all the same fans of the story. Who knows, maybe only a few people will read it now and the majority of you won't like the new version, or maybe the majority of you will read it now and a few people won't like the new version. (I'm really hoping for the latter.) I've just had to realize that it's not all about reviews. It's for myself too, because if I'm not good with myself, then how can I produce a good story at all? Ya feel me? :)

So I want to take back what I originally said about this being a big mistake. It won't. Because I'll know that I have once had support from many people and even if I lose it, I'll still be happy with myself.

I want to thank you all for the reviews and everything. They have made my day for countless, countless days. 

With that all said, I hope you enjoy.


	2. Chapter One

**Author's Note: **Well, I'm back. Not in the way some of you would like, but I'm back and I'm better than ever. I really hope that you read the prelude; it's important. For the newcomers, this is a D/G. So…yeah, I'm nervous about how this'll do, like I said the first time I did this. Alright, let's go.

_Straight From the Witch's Eye_

_chapter__ one_

Draco Malfoy was not happy. It was around midnight and he stood outside of Hagrid's small wooden house, bathed in lantern light, tapping his foot impatiently. That afternoon, he had received a detention from Professor McGonagall for "disturbing the peace" in the halls. 

So what if he had gotten in a fistfight with Potter? He had deserved it this time. He deserved it every time. That stupid boy whom everyone loved just because of a stupid scar on his stupid forehead. Draco wished that once, just once, people would look at him with the same admiration in their eyes as they did Harry. He wished that just once, people would look at him with real respect.

Sure, he was respected, but it wasn't the kind that he wanted. His was tainted respect—the kind that people threw at him out of fear. Yes, Draco was powerful, but that was not what he wished for. He wanted pure respect, the kind that Harry had. 

It wasn't fair.

Of course it was. It was his own fault that he acted the way that he did, that he treated people the way that he did. Or was it? His mother and father had never shown any sort of love to him, preferring to shower him with material things instead of their actual company. The few times that he did spend some real "quality" time with his parents, they were always so snobbish and arrogant towards others; how was he to know how to treat people—

"Malfoy?"

_"God!"_ exclaimed Draco, jumping and clutching his chest. He immediately felt his now pounding heart trying to fly out of his ribcage. He turned to see who it was. 

It was Ginny Weasley.

"What are you doing here?" Draco demanded, defensively. He was embarrassed about jumping the way he had and was trying to cover up the fact that _she_ had just startled _him._

Amused, Ginny said, "I was just about to ask you the same question." 

In the lantern light, Ginny's twinkling eyes revealed her amusement. Draco saw this and looked away, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.

Just then, Hagrid's door flew open and he bounded out holding a lantern in each hand. Its luminosity made Hagrid's usually warm and welcoming face look even warmer and more welcoming. To Ginny. While she greeted him with a smile, Draco glared at him as if it were his fault that he had gotten a detention in the first place. 

"'Ello there, Ginny. Malfoy."

"Hello, Hagrid!" replied Ginny, cheerily. 

A bit too cheery for Draco's taste. He turned to glare in at her in disgust. He hated the peppiness in her voice right then. 

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Ginny remarked.

"That it has. You'd be the las' person I'd suspect gettin' into summat that'd get ya into detention." 

Ginny just grinned.

"Now," continued Hagrid, "the two of you'll be helpin' me out tonight."

"Don't you mean, this _morning_?" grumbled Draco, under his breath. He was tired and wanted to go to bed.

"Professor McGonagall asked me to make to two of ya garden or summat like that but I'm not about to make ya go diggin' in the dirt. So, we'll be goin' into the Forbidden Forest instead." 

Draco, who had been yawning rudely, trying as hard as possible to indicate that he was bored, suddenly inhaled sharply in the middle of his yawn. _What had Hagrid just said?_

Ginny looked at Draco and giggled, seeing the look of horror on his face. Ron and Harry had told her about when they had gone into the Forbidden Forest their first year. Draco had "nearly pissed his pants," Ron had said.

Hagrid went on. "A few of the locals have been reportin' a creature that's misbehavin' in there. I want to go and see if I can handle it before it gets a lit'l too cozy and thinks it can come here and mess with the chickens," he said, looking towards the chicken coop.

"Can't you just ask Professor Dumbledore if you can put a charm around the chicken coop?" asked Draco, slowly. 

Hagrid looked uncomfortable. "Well…ya see…last time I asked if I could charm summat, I made a mess of things. I don't use magic on a regular basis anymore, you know," he said, blushing a bit at his mistake. "Now," he said, quickly so that the two students would not have the chance to ask him what he had done. He gave Ginny one of the lanterns, "I'll be just a minute."

After he stepped into his house, Ginny glanced at Draco. He looked as if he were trying to calm himself down. She just shook her head. She was scared too, but she was determined not to show it, especially not to Draco Malfoy. 

"Alright, then," said Hagrid, coming out of his house again. He had his crossbow in his hands along with the other lantern in his other hand. "Let's be off." 

Ginny and Draco followed Hagrid silently. It seemed that Draco became more afraid with every step that he took. He kept trying to settle himself down, but he could not help but think that something was going to jump out at them any second. With that in mind, he gripped his wand in his cloak pocket tightly. He was so sure that his knuckles had turned white long ago.

Suddenly, they heard a wailing in the distance. As Hagrid armed his crossbow, a black and white rabbit made its way into their lantern light. Normally, they would have thought nothing of it, but slowly, it stood on its hind legs and looked indignantly at Hagrid. 

"Have you got something to say, lit'l one?" asked Hagrid. 

It pawed at its ear and then asked in its surprisingly smooth voice, "You are seeking the "It," I suppose?" 

"If you're talkin' 'bout an "It" that causin' trouble out here, then I am."

"Follow me." It hopped off a little and then turned around, waiting for Hagrid expectantly. 

Hagrid turned to the pair. "Look. I want you two to go back. This is far enough and I think the two of ya have learned your lesson. Stick to the path and go straight to bed. You've served your detention." And then, he ran after the talking rabbit. 

"A babbit," said Ginny after a shared silence.

"What?"

"A babbit. That talking rabbit that we just saw was a babbit." 

"So? Give me that lantern." Without another word, he snatched the lantern away from Ginny and marched off in the direction that they came. His fear had not worn off and he wanted to get out as fast as possible.

Ginny saw this. "Scared, are we?" She walked next to him, making sure that he saw her broad, taunting smile. 

Ignoring her last comment, Draco asked, "Why did you get detention, Ginny?"

Ginny gasped.

_"What?"_ demanded Draco, suddenly alert.

"You…you know my name?" she asked in mock amazement.

"Oh, shut up, of course I know your name!" he cried over her giggling. "But seriously. Why did you get detention? You're such a goodie-goodie. I'd never imagine you in detention." 

"I'm not a goodie-goodie," said Ginny, a bit defensively. Then she went on to say, "In Potions, I made Snape's goblet disappear while he was drinking from it…and left whatever he was drinking."

Draco laughed. "I bet it got everywhere." 

"It did," confirmed Ginny. "And he was standing over his desk with his scrolls and everything on it." 

"Are you mad?" he was imagining whatever that Snape had been drinking spilling all over his desk, leaving his work sticky. That would _definitely _send the perpetrator to detention. 

Ginny nodded. "Yes, didn't you know? Insanity runs in my family." 

"Why did you do it?"

"Because I'm tired of him always criticizing me. It's not my fault that I wasn't put into Slytherin like all his other favored students. It's not fair that I have to do extra ass kissing just to still be at the bottom where I started. I guess today I just stopped caring all together. I figure he'll hate me either way, so why not?" 

Draco was amazed. Ginny was not at all the girl that he had thought she was: a mousy, scared little girl who was constantly hiding behind Potter, the Mudblood, and her brother for protection. She actually had a backbone. 

But it was true. Snape _did _favor him and his housemates. He had never really thought about how unfair it must be to everyone else. Until now. 

Ginny gasped again. 

"What is it now? Did you see something?" asked Draco in a loud whisper, gripping the lantern and his wand.

Ginny ran towards a tree, skipping over its thick, visible roots and knelt before it, lighting up her wand in the process. She shone her light over it, examining it. "Do you know what this is?" she called behind her to Draco.

"I don't really care…" murmured Draco, walking towards her.

"This is a Hythorium Blossom. I learned about it in Herbology two days ago. It emanates—"

"What makes you think that I want to know about a Hythum Blossom? Don't go all Hermione Granger on me."

"Oh," she said, a little embarrassed. She was tempted to say "It's Hythorium, not Hythum,"but instead she just mumbled a "Sorry." 

"See that it doesn't happen again." 

Face burning with annoyance, Ginny stood up and faced him. "Malfoy, you are such a—"

"Now there are a number of word choices that you can choose to end that phrase. You _could_ opt for the more popular route, including names like _jerk _and _git_, or adjectives such as _conceited _and _supercilious­_—"

"You forgot _prat__,_" said Ginny, extremely irritated. 

"Ah, but I had yet to come to that. You interrupted me, which is rude. Rudeness is only exuberated by people who fit the description of one of the word choices I just gave, meaning that it is not you, but rather it is _I _who should be doing the name calling."

Draco smiled, seeing how hot with aggravation that he was making Ginny. He normally only tried to sound smarter, using big words and such, when he was being a prick. He loved it.

"Oh, don't start sounding all philosophical on me!" Ginny exclaimed, quickly striding towards him with her long legs. "You fucking—" She did not finish because she tripped over one of the Hythorium Blossom's many roots. "Ow!" she wailed, gripping her ankle in pain. 

"What happened?"

"I tripped, idiot!"

"How could you have tripped?"

"Well, the roots _are _huge and I wasn't looking. I could use a little help, please."

"Oh, you and your family could use more than just a little—"

"Not now, Malfoy! Help me up. I've twisted my ankle."

Draco sighed. "Alright. Keep your hair on." Approaching her, he grabbed her arms and hastily pulled her up. She fell into him and he looked down at her with a mask of annoyance. Her face burned and she pushed herself away from his chest, careful not to fall again. 

He didn't know what made him look down at the moment that he did and later he would think about it and brood over it, but he _did_ look down at that moment and had to look twice. The tree root that Ginny had tripped over was moving. The end of it waggled at him, as if inviting him to come closer, which he did. He came closer and it rippled, the ripple traveling closer and closer to the body of the tree.

Ginny hopped on one foot, arms out, turning so that she could see him. "What are you doing?"

But he ignored her, intent on following the ripple in the tree root. It was not every day that tree roots rippled as this one was, or at all, for that matter. This tree root had a purpose, a goal, and Draco was determined to find out what it was.

When he reached the tree's trunk, he stood there, waiting expectantly. Suddenly, the tree seemed larger and more menacing that he originally thought. Something compelled him to touch it.

"Malfoy!" Ginny called. "We need to go back right now!"

Ginny was right. They did need to head back. Just as soon as he turned around to walk away, he felt something. Draco couldn't label it any better than to say that it was power that he felt. But the question was what sort of power was this?

Draco turned back to the tree and saw that in the place where he had touched on the tree's trunk was an eye etched into the wood. But, this was not any ordinary eye. It had this design that made it difficult to realize that it was an eye at first, but it was most definitely an eye. It was very intricate. Gradually, it began to glow, dimly at first but then it grew brighter and brighter. 

"Ginny," mumbled Draco. "Are you seeing this?" 

"Come _on_, Malfoy! What are you doing?"

But Draco did not move. He was in a trance. He could not look away from the eye if he tried. It was as if it were hypnotizing him. And it felt wonderful. That was when he began to hear the voice that accompanied the newfound wonderful feeling that he was experiencing. Actually, it sounded like multiple voices whispering in such a way that made it sound almost melodic. 

Draco looked down to find his hand hovering over the glowing eye. Funny, he thought, I didn't even know that I moved my hand. He was so close…all he had to do was extend his fingers…

And he did. And there was electricity. Electricity surged through his veins and he was so sure that what he was feeling was the exact feeling described by the three Hufflepuff girls that he had overheard in the library a few days ago. They were reading from one of those sappy romance books that he hated and though he had not been particularly listening word for word, for the most part he remembered the phrase _"…a beautiful feeling like he'd never felt before that left his heart thumping and his breath caught in his throat…" _

This is exactly what he felt. They had been describing love but this, this was not love. It was something else, something so fantastic, so rich that he didn't know what to call the feeling. So he settled on good. It was a good feeling.

And all from touching a tree trunk.

The feeling died down and the whispering, melodic voices faded away and with them, his trance. He shook his head a bit and looked around, a bit dazed. Then, he realized that he had something in his hand. It was the eye that had been etched onto the tree except it was silver. He saw that it had a chain attached to it. It seemed much more beautiful and appealing now that it was in his hands. 

Draco turned around to show Ginny, but then, in mid action, something stopped him. He strongly thought against it for some reason, but did not know why. 

Ginny stared at Draco, hard. She was trying to figure out what was going on. The strangest thing had just happened. She had been calling his name over and over and suddenly, he just began to…glow. There was a faint white light around him. It was very faint, but she had seen it, she knew she had. And then he had just turned to her and he had something in his hand that sort of glimmered…and the look in his eyes…

"Malfoy?" she tried, lightly. She concentrated on repositioning herself without putting her weight on her hurt ankle, and then tried again. "Malfoy?"

As if startled, Draco looked at her, sharply jerking his head. His eyes glimmered with a new found discovery.

Ginny was truly frightened. 

**End Note: **See, that wasn't too bad. It was actually pretty good, wasn't it? Lemme know. You know what to do. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter Two

**Author's Note: **Well…I finished reading OoTP this past Monday (or maybe it was Sunday?) and it changed things for me. First of all, it presented some really good plot twists that I could use. Second…it made it harder for me to make this a D/G. So, with that said, I'm going to have to take back what I said in the last chapter about this being a D/G. There MAY be some D/G action (I'll try to slip some in there), but I'm not promising some hardcore romance. Although this is true, the story is still focusing on those two so the genre is still the same because there is some Ginny romance in here. So please, don't give up hope for D/G action because there most likely will be D/G action, I'm just not so sure I'm going to make him as nice as I was before reading the book. 

It was a good book, wasn't it?

_Straight From the Witch's Eye_

_chapter__ two_

Ginny planted her foot on the ground beside the other, giving her just mended ankle a twist. It was good as new. She had been apprehensive at first; last year, she had hurt the same ankle and Madame Pomfrey had mended it fine, but she couldn't help but remember seeing Harry's arm as a result of Nurse Gilderoy Lockhart's tender love and care in her first year and still was a little skeptical about bone mending ever since. 

"How does it feel?" the Madame asked.

Rotating it in a circle once more, Ginny said, "Better, thanks. Good as new."

Madame Pomfrey nodded. With her wand, she conjured up a written note, adding her signature and handed it to Ginny. "If anybody happens to question you, show them that. Now, go straight to your dormitory." She yawned, walking away, mumbling to herself. "It's been a long day…"

Ginny too yawned, not noticing how tired she was until then. She tucked the note in her robe pocket, covering her mouth to stifle another yawn. Her steps seemed to get heavier and heavier with every few feet that she passed. 

Finally, through a miracle, she made it to her dormitory and to her room. In a sleepy trance, she undressed in silence, pausing to yawn a few times. Around her, she heard the sleepy murmurings of a few of the girls. 

_"Oh, Neville…elope? Tonight? I'll finally be Mrs. Neville Longbottom…"_

Gasping sharply, Ginny's eyes widened in wonder. Neville? Neville _Longbottom? She looked around at the few girls whom she called her dorm mates. But, which one had unknowingly said it? Giggling, she shook her head and continued to undress. _

A few thoughts ran through her head, like what she would tell Ron when he asked her where she had been late that night. She rolled the covers back and climbed into bed, which seemed even more welcoming than usual. _"I got a detention," _she would say. _"You won't believe who I had to serve it with…Draco Malfoy!" _

But then, the night's events uncovered themselves and she frowned, gazing into the darkness of the room. Would she tell Ron everything? And when she meant everything, she really meant _everything. Also, if she told Ron, that meant telling Harry and Hermione as well. Did she really want to? __"How was my detention? Well, while in the __Forbidden__Forest__, we talked to a babbit and then found a Hythorium Blossom. Oh, yeah, and then Draco started glowing and had this really_ scary look in his eyes that made me want to run and hide. Other than that, it was pretty good."__

That would go well with her brother, Harry, and Hermione. Very well. 

They would bombard her with questions and then come to the same conclusion as they did every time: Draco Malfoy was beyond evil and not to be trusted, blah, blah, blah. But she did not know what they were talking about. Draco wasn't that bad, once you looked past his arrogance and his tendency to be a total obnoxious, insensitive jerk that disliked people of mixed wizard heritage—okay, so he was pretty bad. 

But, they seemed to think that he was _so evil, like he was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. Well, not quite, but close enough. She knew he was just like them; he had gotten scared in the Forbidden Forest just like she had, hadn't he? Sure he made fun of her family and such, but he wasn't the end of the world. There were other things to worry about other than Draco Malfoy. He got on her last nerve, but then again, he had been for the last four years and she had dealt with it, hadn't she? _

All he was was a big bully.

And aside from all that, she knew that Harry and Ron (she was not too sure about Hermione yet) would not believe the bit about how she had seen him glowing. They would probably assume that the light was playing tricks on her eyes or something of the sort. She was nothing more than a little sister to the both of them and they wouldn't take her word seriously. 

She sighed. No. She would not tell Harry and Ron everything. Maybe Hermione. _Maybe. Sometime. But not tomorrow._

She would have to sometime. She didn't think that she could keep all of her thoughts inside forever. Draco Malfoy had gone through a change; she had seen it with her own eyes. His eyes had shown her, as did his demeanor. 

He had been so cold, so very cold, like ice. She had almost not been able to take it. She remembered yelping as he wordlessly lifted her into his arms. And he had not responded to him as she called to him on their trek back to the school. Once, he had looked at her and his eyes were so…cold. It was strange, like the cold that she was feeling from his touch was being emanated from his eyes too. And they looked so empty. 

She had looked away quickly, alarmed once again. There was something else. He had this feel about him, this, this…aura. There was power there, an evil power. She remembered wanting to be put down immediately but knew that was out of the question; how would she get on with her hurt ankle? Who was this stranger that had carried her back to school? 

And suddenly, she remembered something. What had he put in his pocket, so eager for her not to see it? It had glimmered in the light, catching her attention. Ginny had not seen it, but she did not like it. She did not like it one bit. 

"Morning, Ginny," greeted Harry and Ron in unison as they sat down at the breakfast table in the Great Hall. They had already seen Hermione that morning, who was sitting next to Ginny and across from the two of them. 

"Morning," replied Ginny, trying to match their fervor. She had not slept well that night at all; thoughts of Draco and his…_"thing" _had plagued her. 

Ron and Harry picked up on this. "You alright, Ginny?" asked Harry, helping himself to some bacon and eggs. "You look tired."

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "You've got major bags underneath your eyes."

Ginny, though not very hungry, helped herself to some applesauce as a way of distracting herself. She did not want anyone looking at her face. At least he hasn't asked about last night, she thought, wistfully.

"Hey," said Ron, lighting up as if he had remembered something. "Where were you last night? I thought you wanted me to help you with your Divination homework." 

Just as he asked that, Dean Thomas came strolling by. He gave Ginny a kiss on the cheek and as he did this, she felt his hand make its way into her pocket and back. Then, he greeted the others with a quick "Good morning," then walked away just as leisurely as he came.

After she swiftly reached into her pocket to see what he had deposited, Ginny glanced at Ron, noticing how interested he looked in his food. She wanted to laugh, but decided against it. The others were a bit unsuccessful at holding back their laughter. 

"Shut up," grumbled Ron. He _still wasn't used to the fact that Dean Thomas was dating his baby sister. At least it's not serious, he thought. Hermione and Harry quickly choked on their laughs. "Well, Ginny? Where were you?" _

There was no use hiding from the truth now. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ron. Were you waiting for me? I'd forgotten to tell you that I had a detention. Hagrid took us into the Forbidden Forest." 

Hermione finally joined the conversation. "Us?"

Ginny nodded. "Malfoy and me." 

The three of them gave her their full attention. 

"Malfoy?"

"Git."

"Did he get scared like last time?"

"Well…" It wasn't too late to tell them what had happened; she still could if she wanted to… "I hurt my ankle and he carried me back to school," she said, quietly. 

Harry's eyebrow furrowed, Ron frowned, and Hermione gave a great, _"He didn't! Malfoy?"_

"Hermione, please!" Ginny screeched in a loud whisper. 

Ron leaned forward. "And how'd you hurt your ankle, then?"

"Did he push you?" came Harry's concerned and overprotective voice, just like Ron's.

She looked at him and sighed heavily. "_No, he __didn't push me. I tripped."_

"Are you sure?" Ron asked in disbelief.

She knew it. She knew that they would do this. Ron and Harry were so predictable! "No, I'm not sure—I was there, Ron! What, do you think that he pushed me without me knowing? I've got brains too, you know!" 

"Sorry, I just—"

"Just no, Ron…Harry…stop! I'm tired of being the little sister. I can think for myself and I can take care of myself. Leave me alone!" Ginny stood up, not caring about the number of stares that she was receiving for her little outburst.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry looked after her. "I didn't mean…Hermione, what did I do?" questioned Ron, truly confused.

Hermione patted his hand from across the table. "You were being a boy. So were you, Harry."

"What are you talking about, Hermione?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, how else are we supposed to be? We _are boys, we can't change that."_

Rolling her eyes, Hermione went on to say, "What I'm _saying _is that your boy instinct is kicking in; you're being overprotective when she doesn't need it. Ginny's fifteen now. She's fine and I do believe her when she says that she can take care of herself."

"But all she does is blow up at us now." 

"Hormones," said Hermione, matter-of-factly. "You remember how Harry was last year."

_"Hey—"_

"I'm sorry, Harry, but it's true. Look, what happened last night wasn't a big deal so let it go. And don't go questioning Malfoy about it either."

"But—"

"Don't." 

Ron sighed and Harry gave him a sideways glance. He knew that it would be hard for Ron to restrain himself from asking Malfoy what had happened. 

"We'll listen to you, Hermione," said Harry, answering for both he and Ron. 

"Good." She then stuck her nose into _The Standard Book of Spells, Level 6._

_"Lumos," whispered Ginny, stepping into the fifth floor supply closet. She watched her wand light up and pulled out the note that Dean had deposited in her pocket that morning. A smile graced her lips as she remembered how many times Dean had slipped her a note since school had started, all saying, _'fifth floor supply closet' _and an allotted time. _

A few moments later, the door creaked open, allowing Dean in. He smiled at her brilliantly, giving her a nice "Hullo."

Ginny tapped her foot, pretending to be annoyed. "Where've you been? I've been waiting forever."

Dean shook his head. "Oh, come off it. Don't pretend to be upset with me."

"I'm _not _pretending," she claimed, stomping her foot in protest. 

"Then I guess you don't want to hear what I've come to tell you," said Dean, turning to leave. He smiled, knowing that this would get her.

Ginny grabbed his arm. "Dean, you know I'm never serious," she said. "Come on, what have you got to tell me?"

"You really want to know?" He grabbed her without warning, pulling her to him. "Nothing." Before she could protest, he kissed her softly, leaving her with a warm feeling in her gut when he pulled away. 

Eyes still closed, Ginny muttered, "Why'd you stop?" As he leaned to kiss her again, Ginny sighed happily. She relished his kisses. After a while, Ginny became aware of the time. Although she did not know how long they had exactly been in the supply closet, she figured that if she could not remember, it must have been quite some time. "Dean," muttered Ginny as he playfully bit her bottom lip.

"Hmm?" He pulled her a bit closer, his hand snaking down to her bottom, which he gave a quick squeeze. 

She squealed in surprise. No matter how many times he did that, she was always caught off guard. "You know I don't like it when you do that!" she chided, breaking away from him.

Dean only grinned at her and buried his face in her neck, planting small kisses while saying, "Yes you do." 

How right he was. Ginny indeed did like it, but she would never tell him. "Dean," she said again, a bit louder. 

Ignoring her, he said, "But not as much as you like this." He began sucking on her earlobe.

She loved it. And she hated him for it. "Dean," said Ginny, clearly. She moved a way from him slightly. "I need to go or else I'll be late for Quidditch practice." 

Dean sighed. "But you never have time for me anymore." 

"Oh, don't be such a baby. Sure I do." But it was true. What with the extra homework load in preparation for her O.W.L.s at the end of the year and Quidditch practice (Harry wanted to make _sure that they were ten times as better than last year), they didn't have much time alone, not nearly as she would have liked. _

Crossing his arms over his chest, Dean said, "I'm not being a baby. Don't think I don't understand, Ginny, because I do. I was a Fifth Year myself last year so I know how it goes. I'll just come by your practice; maybe we can squeeze in a walk from the fields to the castle." 

It was times like these when Ginny was glad that she was as tall as she was. At five foot eleven, she and Ron were the tallest in her family. Now, she was using her height advantage to search Dean's eyes, trying to see whether he was upset or not. 

"I'm not upset with you or anything," he said on cue. Dean smiled as a reassurance. 

She had to admit, his smiles were contagious. He had a beautiful smile that illuminated his dark face so that even his eyes were smiling. "You're beautiful, Dean," she whispered.

Dean laughed, throwing his head back. 

Scowling, Ginny said, "Well, if you're going to laugh at me—"

"I'm not laughing at you, Ginny. C'mere." She obeyed and he gave her a quick kiss. "You'd better get going; you don't want to be late." He ushered her towards the door. 

Ginny knew the routine. They had done this several times before: Whenever they were leaving the supply closet after their time together, Ginny would leave first and Dean, minutes after her, as to not look suspicious. Well, it would be suspicious enough if either of them were seen coming out of the supply closet at all, but in a lesser degree. It would be one thing to be caught together and be punished, but Ginny knew that the embarrassment would be great and she did not want to go through that. 

So, she opened the door a crack, peering out to make sure that the coast was clear. When she saw that all was clear, she stepped out of the closet and closed the door firmly after her, straightening the skirt of her uniform as she went. 

Ginny took a step—that's how far she got, a single step—when she heard chuckling behind her. _She had been caught. Turning around, she found Draco watching her with a glimmer of amusement in his eye. Her blood began to boil, not because she had been caught, but because it had been he who had caught her._

"Been in there quite some time, Weasel," he stated. The glimmer did not go away, but seemed to shine more brightly as he waited for Ginny to answer. 

"How long have you been standing there?" 

"Long enough to hear your moans of pleasure."

She refused to look abashed, though she knew that she was blushing. Instead she racked her brains to remember if she had let out such a moan, which she was _almost_ positive that she did not. She would have to ask Dean later.

Dean! 

He would be coming out any moment—she had to think of something—Draco would report them—

"Thomas, no doubt?" remarked Draco, nodding towards the supply closet door. 

If Ginny was not mistaken, she could see the door handle turning— "Come with me!" she commanded, reaching to grab his arm. And she dragged him down the length of the hallway, where he finally wriggled loose.

"Where did you get the idea that you could touch me, Weasel?" sneered Draco, wiping his sleeve on his pant leg dramatically. 

His back was to the supply closet and Ginny saw Dean sneak out. "Uh…well, I wanted to talk to you about…" Think, think, she willed herself. And then, she remembered. "What did you find in the Forbidden Forest?"

Draco blinked at her a few times. He thought that she had not seen him put the eye pendant in his pocket. "What are you talking about?" 

"You know…we were by the Hythorium Blossom and I saw you…I think I saw you…" Ginny sighed. She was beginning to sound a little off. "You put something in your pocket and I just wanted to know what it was because—" _"Because you're different now, somehow," _was what she wanted to say, but she stopped herself. 

Leering, Draco watched the little weasel squirm uncomfortably. "Because you felt like wasting my time," he finished for her. "Well, at least you're good at _something._" He turned on his heel and sauntered away, hands in his pockets, whistling. 

Ginny stared after him, torn between chasing him and staying where she was. She decided on the latter, but felt like, for some reason, that she would regret it.

**Review Corner**

**Laiannon-fae-elf****: I remembered your comment throughout the time I was reading the book…_ "_seems that she had a child as her gost writter. like a kid trying 2 use big words." …I didn't really see it that way. I thought it was pretty good, though a little boring at the beginning. But, anyway, thank you for the review.**

**fairywings88107:** I haven't seen your story but I will read it and leave a review. Thanks for yours.

**totally_2bular_girl: **Freaky-Deaky…niiiiiiice. Yeah, I have half of the new chapter of **Only in Your Wildest Neverdreams written, so I'll get that posted soon. And yeah, I'll check out your story. Most def. I just haven't had time to yet. Sorry. Thanks for the review.**

**End Note: **Okay, I'm going away on Saturday or Sunday for a few weeks so I'll **_TRY_** and squeeze in another chapter before then. I'm just letting you know in case it's August and you're wondering why I haven't posted. If you've made it this far, then I'm guessing you've read the chapter. Thanks and all feedback is welcome.

**July 3, 2003******


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